Scotland’s UNESCO Trail is hailed a success as VisitScotland say it inspired two in five visitors to go to at least one of Scotland’s designated sites.
The report which they have published finds that as many as one in four long haul visitors go to one of the sites in Scotland.
More than a third said the trail, which was launched as a digital presence in October 2021, was an important factor in deciding to visit one of the sites. Scotland is the first country to develop such an initiative through a partnership involving VisitScotland, The Scottish Government, the UK National Commission for UNESCO, Historic Environment Scotland, NatureScot, the National Trust for Scotland and Scotland’s UNESCO designations.
Business Minister Richard Lochhead said: “Each one of Scotland’s UNESCO sites tells a story of Scotland’s rich and varied culture, history and heritage. Together, they form a powerful showcase of Scotland’s unique proposition as a year-round sustainable tourism destination.
“The UNESCO Trail has been a pioneering project led by VisitScotland in partnership with sites across the country and this analysis shows the clear value of the initiative as it helps build a compelling story that is attracting tourists and visitors from across the world to our incredible, unique UNESCO sites up and down the country.”
Vicki Miller, Chief Executive of VisitScotland, said: “Scotland’s UNESCO Trail was a major milestone in Scotland’s responsible tourism ambitions. It helped support our work to encourage visitors to slow down and immerse themselves in our marvellous regions, ensuring the benefits of the visitor economy are felt right across our communities.
“Scotland’s UNESCO designations encapsulate much of what makes Scotland a must-visit must-return destination. It is our unique landscape, history, heritage and culture that keep visitors coming back.
“Partnership working is at the heart of all that we do, and the Trail was a real collaboration between the industry, our national partners, UNESCO sites and the Scottish Government to raise our destination’s profile on the global stage. These results show that it not only captured the imagination of our visitors but helped develop new relationships between UNESCO sites and the wider tourism sector.”
The full list of Scotland’s UNESCO designations are: the Galloway & Southern Ayrshire UNESCO Biosphere, Wester Ross UNESCO Biosphere, Dundee UNESCO City of Design, Edinburgh UNESCO City of Literature, Glasgow UNESCO City of Music, Perth UNESCO City of Crafts and Folk Art, Arran UNESCO Global Geopark, Shetland UNESCO Global Geopark, North West Highlands UNESCO Global Geopark, the Flow Country UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Forth Bridge UNESCO World Heritage Site, Frontiers of the Roman Empire: Antonine Wall UNESCO World Heritage Site, New Lanark UNESCO World Heritage Site, Heart of Neolithic Orkney UNESCO World Heritage Site, Old and New Towns of Edinburgh UNESCO World Heritage Site, St Kilda UNESCO World Heritage Site.
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PHOTO Stephen Sweeney
Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.
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